Charter Granted: October 25, 1859

A BRIEF HISTORY OF ANOKA LODGE NO. 30 A.F. & A.M.

Our Lodge began with a group of men who were in pursuit of that high ideal which all masons share - to seek that light which can only shine from within and which illuminates the path which leads toward each of us becoming better men than we were. This ideal had been shared by other men for hundreds of years in the fraternity of Freemasonry. There is evidence that Masonry, in a form similar to ours, was in existence in northern England in 926 A.D., and there is a document called the Regius Poem, written about 1390 A.D., which shows that a ritual, very much like our modern one, had been in use for a very long time by then.

The Grand Lodge organization of Masonry began in June of 1717 when four Lodges of Masons met in a tavern in London and formed the first Grand Lodge. Minnesota Masonry began in August 1849 when St. Paul Lodge 223 was granted a dispensation by the Grand Lodge of Ohio. St. John's Lodge 39 of Wisconsin was chartered in Stillwater in October 1850 and Cataract Lodge 121 was chartered by the Grand Lodge of Illinois at St. Anthony in February 1852. These three Lodges met and formed the Grand Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Minnesota on February 24, 1853.

The original Charter for Anoka Lodge #30 was granted on October 25, 1859 with the following officers: Owen Evans, W.M. James H. Colbath, Sec. Josiah F. Clark, S.W. Nathaniel Small, S.D. John H. Martin, J.W. Isaac P. Strout, J.D. Jacob B. Lufkin, Treas. Harvey Richards, Tyler

There were four additional charter members: Francis Thorndike, Dwight Woodbury, George Small, and Edward Cundy.

Although we have no records of Masonry in Anoka during this early period, the records of the Grand Lodge show that in 1880 a petition was submitted by several members of Anoka Lodge, requesting to form a second Lodge to be known as Doric Lodge. This application was denied by the Grand Master.

The original records of the Lodge and all of its possessions were destroyed by the fire of August 16, 1884, which wiped out the entire business district of Anoka. On August 30, 1884 the Lodge met at Chase's Parlor (also known as Chase's Hall). At this meeting a letter from the Grand Master was read, which authorized the Lodge to continue meeting until a duplicate charter could be issued at the next annual Grand Lodge session. Anoka Lodge received donations from many other Lodges to help purchase new equipment, furniture, etc.

The next meeting was held on September 27,1884 in Merchant's Hotel parlors. It was decided to rent the hall owned by Olaf Norell in the Centre Block for an annual fee of $200.00. The Lodge continued to meet at this location until January 8,1916.

Lodge records for this period give the following information: In 1886 the annual dues were $2.00. The fee for the EA degree was $10.00 and for FC and MM the fees were $5.00.

In 1890 Anoka Lodge No. 30 met for the first time with the illumination of electric lights. On December 16, 1893 the Lodge voted to spend $25.00 to purchase books for a library that would be placed in the Lodge parlor.

On October 13.1894 the Lodge appropriated $15.00 for the relief of victims of the Hinckley fire. The minutes of April 10,1897 contain the historic declaration that "All spittoons be removed and kept out of the lodge hereafter".

On March 5, 1898 the Lodge voted to offer free use of the hall to the Order of Eastern Star Chapter which was being organized.

The minutes from 1900 note that the Lodge furniture was sold to the I00F for $175.00. The Masons and the Knights of Pythias together purchased new furniture and in 1912 our interest was sold to the KP's for $190.00.

In 1904 the Anoka Board of Education requested the M.W.G.M. of Minnesota to lay the cornerstone for the new Anoka High School, which is the present center section of the present Sandburg Middle School, which is located in the block immediately west of the Lodge. The minutes from September 24, 1904 tell that "The Lodge was formed on Jackson Street where it was joined by the school children and other Civic bodies headed by the Anoka Band and marched to the high school grounds via Jackson Street, Third Avenue, Main Street and Second Avenue when the Grand Lodge officers proceeded to lay the corner stone of the high school building according to the ancient custom and usages of the fraternity. A metallic box was placed in a cavity of the cornerstone containing-many articles of historic and local interest."

The 25 years following the fire were a very active period for Masonry in Anoka. The minutes show communications of many kinds, including Festival, Stated, Past Masters, Special, Occasional, and Lodges of Sorrow. At one time during this period there were seven different organizations sharing our quarters. Besides ourselves there was Shekinah Chapter 52 of Royal Arch Masons, Hiawatha Grotto No. 6 M.O.V.P.E.R., Minnesota Lodge No. 8 of the Knights of Pythias, Fidelity Lodge No. 95 IOOF, Loyalty Lodge No. 65 Daughters of Rebecca and Martha Chapter No. 132 0.E.S.

Financial assistance for brothers, wives, mothers, sisters and children was an important part of Masonic charity during the early years. In some cases the Lodge appeared to be the sole source of support for some individuals and this sometimes continued for years. This brotherly love was expressed sometimes by more than one Lodge joining together to provide for a needy person who may even have lived outside of their jurisdiction.

The Lodge's 50th anniversary celebration was held on October 26, 1909 in the Masonic hall. Two charter members, Nathaniel and George M. Small, attended the Golden Jubilee festivities.

On February 21, 1919 the Lodge moved to Workman Hall at the corner of First Avenue and Main Street. Around this time there was a great deal of interest within the Lodge in building their own hall on property located at the corner of Third Avenue and Main Street. This property had been purchased during the 1890's. On July 16, 1921 the Temple Board purchased a one-half interest in the Aldrich property which is our present location. The O.E.S. purchased the furnishings in the home and Dr. Eitel presented the Aldrich Library to the Lodge in November 1921.

The corner stone laying for our present hall was done by M.W.G.M. Herman Held on September 9, l922. The new building was financed by notes issued to banks, members and non-members who were willing to assist. The lots at Main and Third were sold in May of 1923. Dues and initiation fees were raised and $18,038.49 in donations were received from members and others. The donations included $717.00 from the O.E.S. and $150.30 from the Scottish Rite Club.

Before February 26, 1926 the stated Lodge meetings were held on the Saturday night that was closest to the full moon. The reason for meeting near the time of the full moon was to take advantage of its light for traveling at night.

In 1928 the dues and fees were again increased. Pressure of the notes that were made to the brothers during the early twenties, and which were now maturing, was being felt. The financial collapse in 1929 produced a deluge of requests for Masonic charity, which further strained the Lodge's resources. From this time through the middle thirties there were many acts of personal generosity by the membership and some members refinanced or assumed notes held by non- members. At this time the O.E.S. canceled their note for $200.00 and a gift of $300.00 was received from Mary Cutter in memory of Oscar L., Edward B., and Ross Cutter.

A shining day in the history of Anoka Lodge #30 was December 15, 1945 when the final indebtedness was paid off. This event was celebrated in February 1946 by a joint meeting with the O.E.S. when the mortgage was burned at a gala celebration.

The centennial year of our Lodge was celebrated on October 21, 1959 with a dinner and program held al the Anoka Senior High School. M W. Clyde Hegman, Grand Master of Masons was the featured speaker.

During the 1950s and 1960s the ground floor of the Lodge with the high ceiling and hardwood floor, was often used as a gymnasium. Anoka High used it for basketball, the Fencing Club practiced there, and in 1967 and 1968 the Junior High used the space as a classroom.

The minutes for the period from April 1966 through August 1969 show that the Lodge was seriously considering moving to a different location. A new building committee was appointed and their actions included offering to sell the lodge property to the State Bank. The sale option expired on June 1, 1968. In March 1969 the new building committee, having met with architects and contractors, was authorized to spend $7000 for planning the new building. The minutes are silent about their actions until August, when they recommended that the Aldrich house be removed and the club rooms, which had been in the Aldrich house, be relocated in the lodge basement. The basement remodeling was completed by April 1970, but removing the Aldrich house proved to be a more difficult task. A number of options were explored and finally we agreed to lease the house to the Anoka County Historical Society to use as a museum.

1970 is notable for two other reasons: 1) the first board of trustees of the Lodge took office in January, and 2) it was the beginning of a period of change. There have been many changes to the building - a new public address system was installed and the windows were covered by shutters in 1973; the bathrooms and the kitchen were remodeled and the coffee machine and dishwasher were installed in 1978; new carpeting was laid on the stairs in 1980; ceiling fans were installed in 1982; and in 1983 the spot lights were put up and the inside and outside of the building were painted.

Other notable changes include: the 25 year recognition program was started in 1973; the Sons of Norway and the Weight Watchers joined us in 1977; the first issue of the Star and Compass was printed in 1977; action was taken in 1979 to place the Lodge building and the Aldrlch house on the state and national registries of historical buildings; and on June 19, 1982 the Lodge moved its charter from Anoka to the Minneapolis Gun Club where it put on its first outdoor Master Mason degree. The minutes record that "snowmobile suits and ice fishing attire would have been the formal dress for the evening". There was frost on the ground the next morning. The outdoor degree has become an annual affair, and the weather has been better each time.

One final notable change has been in the way we honor our departed brothers. Our tradition had been to purchase floral wreaths, but in 1981 we decided that a more fitting memorial would be built by using the money to award one or more $300 scholarships to graduating seniors from the Anoka-Hennepin school district. (a note added on 3/15/03---the motion was that we would place $25 into the scholarship fund for each deceased brother and this money would be used for the scholarships, which would be given in their names.)

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